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THE 
UNFOLDING OF 

OLD GLORY 



BY 



TELFAIR MARRIOTT MINTON 

COPYRIGHTED IN 1920 

SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS. 

SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

MILITARY SOCIETY OF WAR OF 1812. 

ETC. 



PRINTED IN 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 

U. S. A. 








0{ 




"I pledge Allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic 
for which it stands; one Nation, indivisible, with liberty 
and justice for All." 




THE flag of a nation plays an important part in 
its history. Moreover, even the slightest change in a 
nations flag is often an historical milestone. This is as 
true of the history of the United States as of any other 
country. 

The United States, as a nation, is a daughter of Great 
Britain. The national flag of the United States was there- 
fore naturally derived from the flag of the mother country. 



Our flag is a growth rather than a creation — its proc- 
ess of evolution had its beginning in the early part of the 
seventeenth century and its last unfolding was in 1912. 

Before we became an independent nation, we were 
thirteen British colonies (Massachusetts Bay, Rhodeisland 
and Providence Plantations, New Hampshire, Connecti- 
cut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and 
Georgia) which banded together in 1 774 as the United 
Colonies of America. 

On July 4, 1 7 76, the United Colonies of America de- 
clared that they were free and independent States, the 
United States of America. 



The mainland of the continent of North America was 
discovered in the year 1 000 A. D. by Leif Erickson. 



England's claim to the mainland of the North 
American continent was based upon the discoveries and 
explorations of John Cabot, who on June 24, 1497, landed 
at Newfoundland and took possession of the country in 
the name of England. 

In 1578 and 1583 England made several unsuccess- 
ful attempts to colonize the lands to which she had secured 
title. In 1 585 a colony was established on Roanoke Island, 
Virginia, but it was abandoned during the following year. 
A second colony was established on Roanoke Island in 
1587, but to this day no one knows what ever became of 
the colony. 

On the thirteenth day of May, 1607, the first per- 
manent English Colony was established by Captain John 
Smith at Jamestown, Va. This was the corner-stone and 
the beginning of the United States of America. 

The flag of England at the beginning of the fifteenth 
century was the Red Cross of St. George on a white field. 




In 1603, by the death of Queen Elizabeth, James VI 
of Scotland became James I of England. His cherished 
scheme was to form a union of Scotland and England, but 
his nearest attainment thereto was the drafting of a Union 
flag, which contained the blended crosses of St. Andrew 
and St. George. This flag was called the "King's Colours" 
or "Jacques Union." 




The "Susan Constant," the "Godspeed," and the 
"Discovery," which brought the colonists to Virginia in 
1607, and the "Mayflower," which carried the Pilgrim 
fathers to Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, flew at their fore- 
tops the flag of England and at their main-tops they carried 
the King's Colours. So these two flags became our first 
flags. 

In 1630 the colonists who came to Boston, Mass., 
brought with them the first colonial flag — an emblem 
which was destined to play an important part in the future 
history of England and later of Great Britain, and still 
later to become the basis of an emblem for the new na- 
tion, the United States of America. 




This flag, or more properly speaking this ensign, the 
Red Ensign of England, was our flag, (Massachusetts 
Bay, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhodeisland and 
Providence Plantations, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia 



and Carolina from practically the beginning of these colo- 
nies, and of New York, New Jersey and the counties of 
New-Castle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware after 1664), 
until the official union of England and Scotland in 1 707, 
as Great Britain. 

In 1 707 the "King's Colours" or "Jacques Union" 
became the national flag of Great Britain. In drafting the 
design for this flag, King James I, who was a Scotchman, 
caused the Red Cross of St. George, the flag of England, 
to be placed upon that of St. Andrew, retaining the blue 
field of the Scottish banner as the field for the Union. 
The banner of Scotland was the White Cross or saltire 
of St. Andrew on a blue field. 




In 1 707, Queen Anne and the British Parliament 
caused to be passed an act calling for the union of the 
blended crosses on a blue field on every flag and banner 
of Great Britain. By this act the red cross of St. George 
on a white field was removed from the Red Ensign and the 
union of the crosses on a blue field substituted. 




This modification of the Red Ensign, the Red Union 
Ensign, became our flag, (Massachusetts Bay, New 
Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhodeisland and Providence 
Plantations, New York, New Jersey, the counties of New- 
Castle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, Virginia, Carolina and Georgia), and remained as 
such until the colonies displayed the emblem of the new 
union, the United Colonies of America, in 1776. 

On January 1, 1 776, the United Colonies unfoiled on 
Prospect Hill, Charlestown, Mass., (now Somerville) the 
"Grand Union" flag. 




It was the emblem of the United Colonies of America, 
Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode- 
island and Providence Plantations, New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina and Georgia, from January 1, 1776, 
until July 4, 1 776. 

It was the emblem of the United States of America, 
i.e., Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Con- 
necticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New 
Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and 
Rhode Island, from July 4, 1 776, until the adoption of its 
immediate successor the "Stars and Stripes" on June 14, 
1777. 



The "Grand Union" was a modification of the Red 
Union Ensign, which had been our flag for sixty-nine years. 
It was derived at by dividing the red field of the colonial 
flag into seven stripes, placing a white stripe between each 
red one. The stripes represented the new union of the 
thirteen British colonies. The blended crosses on the blue 
field in the canton represented the old Union. We re- 
tained the old union according to the act of the British 
Parliament of 1 707, for we were still Englishmen acknowl- 
edging our allegiance to the Crown, and were not fighting 
for independence but for our just rights as Englishmen. 

It has been said that the idea of a striped flag sug- 
gested itself from. the striped flag of the States General 
of Holland of 15 79 (Europe's oldest federal republic) 
whose stripes signified "One for all and all for one". 

On July 4, 1 776, we declared ourselves an inde- 
pendent nation and absolved all allegiance to the British 
Crown. The question of a national flag for the United 
States of America was not considered seriously until al- 
most a year after we had declared our independence. We 
already had an emblem which represented the new Union; 
to change the canton was not generally regarded at first as 
a matter of importance — the stripes being the most con- 
spicuous part of the flag — but we soon became aware, 
however, of the fact that while the American Union was 
represented on the flag it, at the same time, contained the 
British Union. So it was decided to replace the blended 
crosses on the blue field in the canton by a distinctive 
American feature. 

A modification of the "Grand Union" having been 
decided upon, Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, 
"Resolved that the flag of the 'thirteen' United States be 
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union 
be thirteen stars, white, in a blue field, representing a new 
constellation". So the blended crosses of St. George and 
St. Andrew were lifted out of the blue field and in their 
place appeared thirteen white stars. 




Lyra, a northern constellation of thirteen stars, im- 
plying unity and strength, suggested the idea of adopting 
the stars of Heaven as the American device. The words 
of Continental Congress, "a new constellation," shows 
that the stars of Heaven were chosen indicating that we 
were a new constellation in the political firmament. 

There were two flags, which doubtless played an im- 
portant part in the drafting of Our Flag. The first Ameri- 
can flag to contain stripes was that of the Philadelphia 
Light Horse. The field of this banner was of bright yel- 
low silk, and its canton contained thirteen stripes, alter- 
nate blue and silver. It has been intimated that the 
stripes in this flag were borne in mind by those who had in 
hand the matter of a flag for the United Colonies. The 
other is the flag of the Rhode Island Brigade of 1775, 
which contained thirteen five pointed stars in a canton of 
blue. This flag undoubtedly was well known to the com- 
mittee which had the selecting of the American device. 



In the first design of the "Stars and Stripes" the stars 
in the blue field were arranged in the form of a circle — 
symbolizing the perpetuity of the Union. The arrange- 



ment of the stars in the form of a circle is said to have been 
suggested by the device on the Linked Hand Flag of New- 
buryport, Mass., of 1775, — thirteen mailed fists holding 
thirteen links of an endless chain arranged in the form of 
a circle. It represented the sentiment of "United we 
stand." 

General Washington referred to the "Stars and 
Stripes" as follows: "We take the stars from Heaven, the 
red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes; 
thus showing that we have separated from her; and the 
white stripes shall go down to posterity representing 
liberty". 

Who the designers of the "Grand Union" and the 
"Stars and Stripes" were is not known. The Congressional 
committee, consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin 
Harrison and Thomas Lynch, appointed to confer with 
General Washington at Cambridge, Mass., in October, 
1 775, might have had the subject of a flag for the United 
Colonies under consideration. There is evidence, how- 
ever, that at least one of this committee, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, was deeply interested in the creation not only of the 
"Grand Union" but of its immediate successor, the "Stars 
and Stripes". 

The first design of the "Stars and Stripes" was purely 
a revolutionary emblem. It was in use during the remain- 
ing years of the war for American Independence, and dur- 
ing that period of our country under the Articles of Con- 
federation. 



In our first flag under the Constitution, the stars in 
the blue field were arranged in three horizontal rows, with 
four, five, four stars in each row, known as the naval ar- 
rangement. It remained our flag until 1 795. 




The Constitution of the United States provided for 
the admission of new States into the Union, but no provi- 
sion had been made by Continental Congress in the Flag 
Act of 1777, or by the United States Congress, for repre- 
sentation of new States in the Union on the flag. 

Vermont was admitted into the Union in 1 79 1 , and 
Kentucky in 1 792. Both these States wanted represen- 
tation on the flag, so it was decided to add a star and a 
stripe for each one of these new States. 

On January 1 3, 1 794, Congress passed the second 
Flag Act. "Be it enacted etc., That from and after the 
first day of May, One thousand seven hundred and ninety- 
five, the flag of the United States be fifteen stripes, alter- 
nate red and white, and that the Union be fifteen stars, 
white, in a blue field." 




This was our flag during the War of 1812 and re- 
mained our flag until 1818. It was to this flag that Francis 
Scott Key on the morning of September 14, 1814, wrote 
the words of the "Star Spangled Banner". 



Between 1795 and 1818, five more States were ad- 
mitted into the Union, Tennessee 1796, Ohio 1801, 
Louisiana 1812, Indiana 1816, and Mississippi 1817, 
but up to this time Congress had made no provision for 
representation of additional states on the flag, so it again 
became necessary to alter our flag. The accession of these 
new States and the certain prospect that at no distant date 
the number of States would be considerably multiplied, 
rendered it inexpedient to increase the number of stripes, 
as every flag must in some measure be limited in size. It 
was, therefore, decided to reduce the number of stripes to 
the original thirteen representing the number of States that 
achieved their independence, and to increase the stars to 
correspond with the number of States then in the Union, 
and thereafter add one star to the flag whenever a new 
State should be fully admitted. 

On April 4, 1818, Congress passed the third Flag 
Act. "Sect. 1 — Be it enacted etc. That from and after the 
fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be 
thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white: That 
the Union be twenty stars, white, in a blue field. Sect. 
2 — Be it further enacted, That on the admission of every 
new State into the Union, one star be added to the Union 
in the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the 
fourth day of July next succeeding such admission". This 
was the first Flag Act which said that the stripes should 
be horizontal. 




In the first design under this act the stars were ar- 
ranged to form one large star. It was in use for a very 
short period, as it did not meet with approbation, and the 
stars were again arranged in parallel lines. 






By an executive order issued by President Monroe in 

1818, the arrangement of the stripes of our flag was fixed 
for all times: "From the top to the bottom of the Union 
there will be seven stripes, and six stripes from the bottom 
of the Union to the bottom of the flag." 

Since 1818, the Union of our flag has been altered 
twenty-two times by the addition of stars. On July 4, 

1819, by the admission of Illinois (21 stars); 1820, Ala- 
bama and Maine (23 stars); 1822, Missouri (24 stars); 

1836, Arkansas (25 stars); 1837, Michigan (26 stars); 
1845, Florida (27 stars); 1846, Texas (28 stars); 1847, 
Iowa (29 stars); 1848, Wisconsin (30 stars); 1851, Cali- 
fornia (31 stars); 1858, Minnesota (32 stars); 1859, 
Oregon (33 stars); 1861, Kansas (34 stars); 1863, West 
Virginia (35 stars); 1865, Nevada (36 stars); 1867, Ne- 
braska (37 stars); 1877, Colorado (38 stars); 1890, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington and 
Idaho (43 stars); 1891, Wyoming (44 stars); 1896, Utah 
(45 stars); 1908, Oklahoma (46 stars); 1912, New Mex- 
ico and Arizona (48 stars). 

Our Flag in its present form was authorized in 1912 
by President Taft in an executive order as follows, "That 
on and after July 4, 1912, the arrangement of the stars 



forming the Union on the blue field, shall be in six hori- 
zontal rows, with eight five pointed stars in each row." 
This was the first official act or order that stated that the 
stars in our flag should be five pointed and that the rows 
be horizontal. 




The blue field in the canton of our flag represents 
Heaven, as it did in the flag of Scotland of 937 A. D. and 
in the "King's Colours" or "Jacques Union" of 1603. 
There is a legend that in the year 937 A. D. Malcolm I, 
the King of the Scots, on the night before the battle of 
Brunanburgh with Athelstan, King of England, saw in the 
clear blue sky of Heaven the cross of St. Andrew and hence- 
forth adopted it as the national device. In 1 603, this same 
blue field became the basis for the flag of the British Union 
and it is this same blue field minus its blended crosses, 
but studded with forty-eight five pointed stars that is in 
our flag of to-day. 

The red stripes of our flag, represent the army, for 
our first Colonial Army carried the flag of the mother 
country, the Red Union Ensign, bearing upon its red field 
some particular device or motto. 

The white stripes represents the navy. The first flag 
authorized by Continental Congress was for Washington's 
Navy. Its field was white. Upon this white field was a 
green pine tree and the words "An Appeal to Heaven". 



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